IPL franchise Lucknow Super Giants' owner Sanjeev Goenka hugged his team captain, Rishabh Pant, after LSG’s five-wicket win over SunRisers Hyderabad (SRH) on Thursday evening. Taking revenge for last year’s lopsided loss at the same venue against this team, where Goenka bashed then-team captain KL Rahul out in the open, the team owner looked elated with the side’s first win this edition.

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Goenka celebrated his team’s massive win over SRH, which is on the rampage with their run-scoring spree, having registered the second-highest team total in the competition’s history in their previous game. 

Goenka’s expression while hugging Pant told the entire story. He then met opener Mitchell Marsh, who scored his second fifty of the season, hitting a fighting 52 off 31 balls in the first innings. 

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“Any win is good, and the first one is very special,” Goenka said after LSG opened its account in IPL 2025. “So yes, it feels very good.”

Contrary to his social media image that took a beating after he openly bashed KL Rahul last year, after which their relationship fell apart, and Rahul decided against getting retained ahead of IPL 2025, Goenka politely and humbly met every LSG player, including seamer Shardul Thakur, who picked four wickets in the first innings.

Congratulating Thakur for his inning-changing spell in the first innings, where he accounted for opener Abhishek Sharma and SRH’s last-game hero Ishan Kishan in successive balls, Goenka praised him by saying, “Purple cap just doesn’t come like this.”

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Goenka’s message for the fans

Speaking on a video posted by LSG’s social media handles, Goenka had a message for the fans.

“I would like to tell the fans, believe in us; we will give our best. And the team, well done today,” Goenka said. 

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Meanwhile, LSG’s Nicholas Pooran holds the Orange cap for scoring 145 runs in two matches and seamer Thakur is a Purple Cap holder with six wickets from two outings thus far.

LSG will host Punjab Kings in its next match on Tuesday (April 1). 

(With inputs from agencies)